Recession diet -- what's in your refrigerator?
Submitted by PAforClark on April 26, 2008 - 4:37pm.
Current Events
Just read this interesting, but predictable article about how people are cutting back.
I haven't really noticed the higher prices myself, but I am just normally frugal with my money to begin with...my biggest vice is the cans of Coke Zero that I consume daily. (Cut me, I bleed Coke).
I was amazed to see that gas was over $3.50 in our area. Last time I filled up my Prius it was $3.23.
What are you doing to cut back and/or stretch your dollars?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/business/27spend.html?hp
"Spending data and interviews around the country show that middle- and working-class consumers are starting to switch from name brands to cheaper alternatives, to eat in instead of dining out and to fly at unusual hours to shave dollars off airfares.
Though seemingly small, the daily trade-offs they are making — more pasta and less red meat, more video rentals and fewer movie tickets — amount to an important shift in consumer behavior."
It will be the 2nd year for it so it's a small affair - won't open until Memorial Day weekend.
"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau
in our local stores went up 1.00 each item over a year ago - tacked on transportation fee the grocery store is charged so
now the same bag of grocery of 10 items is 10.00 more than before; have you tracked the price of eggs and milk in the last year.....
maybe where you are prices haven't gone up as much
1 gallon milk near $4.00 - dozen A eggs over 3.00 soy cheese went from 2.99 to 3.99 now it is 4.49 same stuff;
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq5.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEJ2ZLkjqQI&eurl=
I keep looking for ways to cut, like making my house more energy efficient, but when I do, the utility companies raise the prices to compensate shareholders for their loss when people use less fuel. Go figure. The add on costs on my utility bills often time are as high or higher than the actual cost of the fuel used.
As for food, I've had a freezer in the garage for years and trained myself to stock up when prices were good for something. I stopped eating out much a long time ago and when I do go, I ask if they serve half portions or split a dinner with someone. The amount of food they serve one person is obscene.
As for entertaining, I expect to do something like grilling hot dogs (an astonishing thing) rather than something fancier. There's a brand called Coleman's they sell at Costco at this time of year that is all beef and doesn't have the addidtives like nitrites that give me a headache. They sell the kosher beef hot dogs as well. At least then you know that only certain cuts of beef can be in the hot dog.
People are going to have to learn to be creative with whatever it is that's in supply wherever we live.
I had good luck last year with some Yukon potatoes that started to sprout in the refrigerator. Stuck them in the ground and got some more potatoes back...
This year I had an onion to stick in the ground as well as the potatoes.
I like beets so I'm trying beets as well as my usual green beans and summer squash.
I should do something about freezing some of the vegetables - especially the green beans.
"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau
She's planting a vegetable garden at her place in Maine. She's done it since the days she lived on a commune in 1970.
Some skills from those days last a lifetime. I don't have her green thumb.
And very little sunny spots in my yard. I'm actually going to try growing the squash in the front flower beds; there is more sun there and the flowers are really pretty (and tasty).
But there are also more critters than in the fenced backyard.
"It takes two to speak the truth - one to speak and one to hear." - Henry David Thoreau
I also have a path at a public garden, where I raise vegetables - peas, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, potatoes and root vegetables. I also buy in bulk from Costco - especially canned goods and sugar.
I eat out very rarely and eat very few processed foods as well, and, usually, I only have chicken or fish once a day.
Lunch, for instance, was black bean and cilantro soup in tomato broth. Delicious and five big servings costs less than $8.00 total.
I've actually been doing this for the last few years and find that not only is it better for my wallet, it's also better for my waistline. Go figure.
I'm lucky to live near a pretty terrific Farmer's Market where they have free-range hormone etc. free chicken. It's really inexpensive if bought in bulk & they will debone & deskin it, plus the bones can be made into stock - buyer's choice. I stock up with five pounds - tenderize it & portion it into freezer bags, lay them flat & freeze smaller portions. It doesn't miss a step if you use it up within about three months, I've found. So you just have to label it.
If I don't freeze it, I saute it lightly then cook on super low heat with a lid & a little white wine, pepper, a pinch of fines herbes, sometimes lemon, and sometimes a bay leaf. Poaching, more or less. And usually some kind of sauteed onion. When cooled it is excellent to use through the week for quesadillas, sliced onto fresh salads, chop up with hot wing sauce for wraps, chicken tarragon, dilly chicken, quick soup- anything, really. Fahitas. So easy to use & one is spared most of the time, effort & cooking fuel expense the second time around- chicken is so flexible with adding flavors even after it is cooked.
Either way- freezing or cooking in batches makes for quick, easy, healthy, flavorful meals in a flash with fewer trips to the store & less energy & time used up when using the second pre-cook method.